Daddy Dearest
by LadyNightRunner
Summary: Being a Dad can be hard. Even with the mother around, there will be times when you have to take the reins and pray nothing goes wrong. Whether it's dealing with harassment, coping with behavior issues, being Mr. Mom, or myriad other things, Dad is there.
1. Yazmin

I'll say it now...my brain seems to have gone on vacation. All I could come up with was this, as an apology for not posting in...ages. I've got others in the works...this is going to be a multi-chapter one-story-per-chapter thing, called DaddyDearest...maybe. Yeah, you read right, I'm going to contintue this madness. Please forgive me.

* * *

"And you can stay _right_ there until your Mother gets here to take you home, young lady."

"And if I don't?"

"You'll be suspended a whole lot longer. Stay put."

The girl sniffed, flicked her dark ponytail over her shoulder, and crossed her arms, giving the assistant principal a haughty look.

"'s not like she's gonna be mad or anything."

/Some time later/

"You can go now." The girl grinned, snagged her backpack, and took off like a shot for the office door, ready to throw herself at her Mother with the excuses she'd come up with. She collided with a solid chest and bounced off with a yelp.

"_Dad_?"

"Outside. Now," he said softly.

"But-"

"You're just digging yourself deeper. We will discuss this at home."

"Okay," she mumbled.

"Thank you for calling."

"Er…of course," the assistant principal answered, backing towards his desk. "Here. You'll need this to take her off campus." He grabbed a slip of orange paper and held out.

**Student name**: _Valentine, Yazmin_

**Reason for leaving**: _Suspension_

**Time of return**: _Unknown_

**Turned over to**: _Valentine, Vincent _(Yuffie had been scratched out)

**Relation to student**: _Father _(Mother was hastily scribbled over)

"Thank you. Let's go, Yazmin." Yazmin nodded meekly and followed her Father out into the hall. As soon as the door shut, the assistant principal slumped against his desk with a sigh. The door opened almost at once, and he straightened, then relaxed when one of the security guards hurried in.

"Is he gone?"

"Yes."

"Never thought I'd actually see 'im. Her Mom always comes in, y'know?"

"Did you assess the damage, like I asked?"

"Yep. Damage to various walls and floors, three broken windows, no broken bones, thank god, cuts, scrapes, bruises, terrified teachers, equally frightened and/or awestruck students, and an incredible mess in the culinary labs. Oh, and one distraught janitor; she went right through a bed of tulips he's been babying all spring."

"Thank you."

"Sit. We're going to- no, go to your room. Sit at your desk. Contemplate _exactly_ what you have done for the next hour. Then I want you back down here. Understood?"

"Yessir," Yazmin mumbled. She kicked her shoes off and shuffled upstairs. Vincent sighed and dropped onto one of the stools resting under the kitchen island.

_Perhaps I should apologize?_

"That might help," Vincent muttered.

_Alright. I'm very sorry that your daughter inherited a little bit of me as well. I am not, however, sorry that she knows and uses it._

"That doesn't help."

_She's just a child, Valentine._

"She's sixteen. When _I_ was sixteen, I was already planning on joining the Turks. I wasn't wreaking havoc at my high school. I wasn't getting myself _suspended_."

_She isn't _just_ yours; you can't expect her to act just like you._

"She doesn't act much like her Mother, either. At least Yuffie doesn't get caught most of the time."

_But she did when she was younger._

"Not like Yazmin. It took two security guards and the assistant principal to _catch_ her."

_What was it she did, again?_

"Started a fight with one of the boys from the football team, and ended up fighting with all of them. A high-speed chase ensued, involving most of the main building and causing damage to boys and building."

_If they were jocks, then I'm sure they deserved it. _

"This is no time for jokes."

_She didn't kill any of them, did she?_

"No."

_Any serious injuries? Coma? Concussions? _

"Trauma," Vincent offered.

_A healthy dose of which is good for growth. _

"What if she _had_ killed someone? How would I have explained it? Do you honestly think I could go in there and tell her teachers what I am?"

_You could, if you had to. _

"Chaos, you haven't had to tell anyone. It's terrible, watching their expressions. They become afraid of me. They think I'm a monster."

_They don't understand you._

"Exactly. And in addition, can you imagine what they would think of _her_?"

_Then talk to her. Or let me talk to her. We can _both_ do it. Help her properly understand what I am, and what legacy she shares. Perhaps, if she understands, she'll at least have the sense not to get violent on school grounds._

"You're a bad influence."

_And look where I got you. Happily married with a beautiful daughter…speaking of which, have you or Yuffie talked to her about boyfriends?_

"Enough. I'll do my best when she comes down, but not the boyfriends. I'll have Yuffie do that."

_Good idea._

"Now be quiet. I need a few minutes."

/One hour later/

"Dad?"

"In the kitchen." Yazmin slunk into the kitchen. Vincent was sitting at the counter. "Sit down," he said quietly, motioning at another stool. Yazmin climbed onto a stool and stared at her feet.

"Am I in trouble?"

"Why are you asking?"

"Just checking." Silence reigned over the kitchen for a few minutes. "How much trouble?"

"Quite a bit. Why don't you explain what happened. Do _not _leave anything out." Vincent waited. Yazmin fidgeted on her stool. "Well?"

"He was asking for it. They _all_ were. And I had to let them have it, Dad, I really did."

"How do you justify that?"

"I just…I _had_ to."

"Because they 'deserved' it?"

"Yeah." Vincent sighed.

"What did they do to deserve your anger? How many times have your Mother and I _both_ told you to keep calm?"

"A whole lot. I…he said stuff. It made me mad, and I went after him, and he called all his friends, so I attacked all of them, and I really liked it. it felt good to give them what was coming to them."

_I knew it. I _knew_ I had something to do it. Battlerage, Valentine. She has battlerage geared towards her perception of justice, just like you._

Vincent stared at the counter for a Moment, processing. It certainly sounded like Chaos was right. He himself had experienced the beautiful feeling when he destroyed someone threatening his world. He knew how good it felt.

"Yazmin, has your Mother told you about Chaos?"

"She told me stories about him when I was little."

"Do you believe in him?"

"I'd like to. He sounded kinda cool. Y'know, the kind of guy that looks really bad and can act like it but is really good deep down. He just needs to get his priorities straight."

_And I have, thank you very much._

"What if I told you that he exists?"

"I'd believe you in a heartbeat."

"And if I said that he lives in me?"

"Then I'd ask for an explanation."

_Smart girl_.

"Hojo found some way to put Chaos in my body. There were three others as well, but they are gone. We have learned to coexist in the years that we've been together. Your Mother is rather fond of him, though she often considers him something of a pet. I believe that you inherited some of him through me, which would explain the way you felt when you fought. I've felt it too; Chaos calls it battlerage. It makes it easier to fight through almost hopeless situations."

"But my problem wasn't _hopeless_," Yazmin interrupted. Vincent nodded and took a nectarine out of the bowl on the table, rolling the fruit between his fingers as he spoke.

"And therein lies the problem; it's not something you can control. _I_ certainly can't, and Chaos has little more hold over it than I do. What you have to do it learn to control your emotions, because that is the basis for the rage."

"And become a rock, like you?" Yazmin snapped. Vincent looked at her.

"What?"

"Mom says that you're like a rock all the time. You never smile or laugh or _anything_. You don't react to anything. If being able to keep from going all psycho like I did means having to close up and quit _living_, then I'll stick with being a psycho. You and Mom can lock me up if I really hurt someone." Yazmin spun her stool so she was facing the other direction. "I don't know how you and Mom _ever_ managed to get together, let _alone_ have _me_."

"I'm not really sure myself," Vincent said softly, still toying with the fruit in his hands. "I don't deserve her."

"You ought to know," Yazmin pointed out, kicking her feet. "You _married_ her."

"And if I told you that I proposed via cell phone?"

"You_ what_?"

"Subtlety just wasn't working with her, and I spent the better part of eight hours sitting on my bed at 7th Heaven working up the courage to go and do it properly, and finally ended up dialing her number and asking over the phone."

"Dad, that's so _lame_!"

_Took the words right out of my mouth, Yazzy,_ Chaos chuckled.

"It worked."

"Do you love her?"

"How did we get from your suspension to my marriage?"

"Chaos."

_Don't blame _me_ for it!_

"Then let's return to your suspension, shall we?"

"Daaaaaad."

"Yazmin, my apparent shortcomings as a husband and father are not the issue. Uncontrollable or not, you attacked your classmates and caused considerable damage to the school. Your explanation that they deserved it is not good enough. I want to know why."

"Because they're all sexist pigs," Yazmin muttered. "And I ain't sayin' anymore 'til you agree to talk to me about Mom."

"You've been spending too much time with HighWind," Vicnent sighed. He gave the nectarine another turn.

"He's fun to hang out with, and I like being up in the air."

_She gets that from us. If it was Yuffie she took after, she'd never say that._

"And you're picking up his language as well."

"So?"

"Nothing. Quit stalling."

"Agree."

"I will, assuming you keep your end of the bargain, discuss your Mother with you when I decide your explanation is satisfactory." Yazmin pulled a face.

"Jeez, Dad, you sound like Tseng."

"Understandable."

"That wasn't a compliment."

"I'm sure." Vincent drew the point of one of his fingers along the seam in the nectarine, watching as the sharp metal left a fine cut and welling drops of juice in its wake. "But Turks who are dedicated to their job often pick up habits like that."

"Still."

"I believe you left off at sexist pigs," Vincent murmured. Yazmin nodded.

"Right. Anyway, Aidan was being a total jerk and I kicked him in the shins –just a warning shot across the bow, y'know?- and he started yelling and screaming and all of his football buddies came running."

"Where were you?"

"The boy's locker room."

"And _why_, pray tell, were you in there?"

"Aidan stole my bag, and I had to get it back."

_Logical_.

"Continue." Yazmin sighed and spun back around.

"All the guys came running and Aidan sicced 'em on me –he's team captain- and they all jumped on me. I got out from under them and started pounding the closest one, and it started to feel good. From there, it was either chase or fight for the next twenty minutes. Then the adults came after me, and I was so surprised they caught me before I could do anything, but I fought them anyway, and then they called Mom, and you came…where _is_ Mom, anyway?"

"In Nibelheim, helping Tifa look for Cloud. She relayed the call to me." Yazmin made a face.

"Tifa doesn't _need_ help. She can find Cloud on her own."

"Cloud hasn't answered his phone _or_ checked his messages in a week. His inbox is full. Tifa is distraught. Yuffie is going as much for moral support as for the part of search assistant."

"Oh."

"We're getting off topic again, Yazmin," Vincent pointed out. Yazmin sighed.

"I told you already. That's the whole thing."

"You're not telling me something. I can tell. What happened that you don't want me to know?" Yazmin fidgeted uneasily on her stool. Vincent waited, absently peeling the nectarine and eating the skin. "Was it something one of the boys said?"

_An hour in your body says that it was sexual._

"Aidan…he told me to go back to the Wutaian whorehouse where I belonged…and to take my Mother with me…when I hit him and he got his team after me…they called me things…one of the guys knocked me down and tried to get on me…I just couldn't control myself…I-I know I could have done a whole lot of damage…I could've killed someone, but what they said…Dad, I _had_ to do it. They can't talk about Mom that way, and I won't let them step on me like that. I'm not a doormat." Vincent forgot what he was going to say. He forgot everything.

"He said your Mother belonged in a brothel, did he?"

"Y-yeah."

"Do you know where to find them?"

"Them?"

"The team. Aidan in particular, but the team in general."

"They'll be practicing on the back field."

"Wait here for a few minutes."

Yazmin nodded. Vincent got up and went to his room. When he returned, he was back in the black leather outfit Yazmin hadn't seen him wear since she was very small. Upon returning to the kitchen, Vincent fastened the long holster for Cerberus to his belt and thigh, then slid the gun into it.

"Come with me." Yazmin nodded and got up, reaching out to touch the leather reverently.

"Never thought I'd see you wear this again," she breathed.

"And why not?"

"Mom said you put it away after I was born, and you only wore it a couple of times, to make me stop crying when I was little. Mom said that it was your battle-dress."

"It was, but this is important." Vincent closed the front door behind Yazmin and crouched down. "Get on my back."

"What?"

"I don't want to miss practice."

_That's the spirit. Hang on, Yazzy. We're gonna show those bastards the meaning of fear!_

None of the boys on the field noticed the tall black and red figure standing by the fence, nor did they see the girl beside him. That was how Vincent wanted it.

"Yazmin, do you know how to handle this?" Vincent asked, bring a small pistol out from under his cloak. Yazmin nodded. "I want you to count to ten. Then point this straight up and fire off two shots. When you have the team's attention, re-direct it at me."

"Okay." Yazmin took the gun, testing the weight experimentally. "Where will you be?"

"Don't worry about it. Ready? Go." Vincent vanished. Yazmin took a deep breath and four steps out onto the field. Then she raised the gun and squeezed the trigger. The first shot halted all motion on the field. The second drew all eyes to her.

"Back again, bitch?" Aidan yelled. "There's nobody out here to save you this time!"

"Sure there is," Yazmin called back. "Look up!" The team looked up. A dark shape was falling towards them.

_Ready, Valentine?_

Let's do this.

Vincent hit the grass on his feet and straightened up.

"Which one of you is Aidan?"

"Me," Aidan answered. "Who're y-agh!" Vincent grabbed Aidan by the collar and hoisted him off his feet.

"_I_ am Yazmin's father. _You_ are scum."

"Y-you can't do this," Aidan whispered. Vincent smiled coldly.

"Can't I?"

_My turn_.

Go ahead.

It had been a long time since Vincent had truly wanted Chaos to take over. It had been even longer since he had reveled in the feeling of his body changing, becoming someone else. He allowed his consciousness to fall back into the rising tide of power and closed his eyes, feeling the wings begin to form. Aidan was screaming. The other members of the team made to run away.

"Don't move!" His voice was a strange blend of Chaos and Vincent, a deep, growling voice that made all the boys stop in their tracks.

"What _are_ you?" Aidan wailed, flailing wildly.

"I am _very_ angry," Chaos growled. He spread his wings out and bared his fangs, reveling in the fear rolling off the boy. "You've disgraced my family. You've hurt my daughter, insulted my wife, and put my host in an awkward situation. You tried to take Yazmin. You drove her to rage, and then you pretended to be innocent and let her take the fall."

"She's crazy! _You're _crazy!"

"Perhaps. But at least I'm not a coward. I don't need to have a group of lackeys behind me so I can _pretend _to be a big man. Which is worse, do you think? My position, or yours? Anyone?" Chaos looked at the rest of the team. "Hmmm?"

"Er…his?" one of the boys ventured.

"_Very_ good. At least one of you hasn't taken too many hits to the head. Now tell me…what are you going to do to convince me not to tell my daughter to point that gun in her hands and fire?" All heads turned to look at Yazmin. She smiled in spite of herself and showed them the pistol. "She's a crack shot, you know. I taught her myself, and I can hit a dragonfly on the wing." Aidan glanced wildly between Chaos and Yazmin. Yazmin smiled sweetly and gave him a little wave.

"Please, please I'll do _anything_," he said frantically.

"_Just_ you? What about your team? One of them tried to mount her; what will _they_ do?" Chaos smiled lazily and brought his claw up to Aidan's throat, running the tip of one finger across the skin. "It's so easy to slit a human throat. All it takes is getting between the ridges of the larynx and pulling straight across…the gush of blood is beautiful." Aidan began to cry, holding as still as he could to avoid the touch of the gold claw.

_Aren't you laying it on a little _too_ thickly?_

Hush. I'm having fun.

_Just don't kill anyone, and leave _no_ evidence._

Will do.

"Don't kill me!" Aidan blubbered. "We'll _all_ do whatever you want, just _don't_. Won't we?" Frantically, the rest of the team nodded.

"I see," Chaos drawled. "Well then…for starters, I want _all_ of you to beg for Yazmin's forgiveness. You have done her a great wrong…perhaps she'll forgive you."

"Do it!" Aidan yowled. "Go apologize to her!"

"You too, little boy. I want to hear you tell her from here. Go on…you first." Chaos turned so that the dangling Aidan was facing Yazmin.

"I'm _sorry_!" he yelled. "I didn't mean it! I take back everything I said about you and your mom! Really! Please forgive me!"

"Now the rest of you."

The field resounded with frenzied apologies and pleas. Many of the boys got down of their knees, hands clasped. Yazmin surveyed the spectacle with no expression. The pleading increased.

"At least you have the sense to bow before her," Chaos sniffed, giving the still sobbing Aidan a shake. "Women are goddesses given flesh. _Never_ forget that. When I release you, you will all report yourselves to the principal. You will tell him _exactly_ what you did to my daughter. You will assist in the repair of the school. You will _never_ bother Yazmin again. If she needs something, you will get or do it for her. If she is being harassed, you will see to it that the trouble ceases. Yazmin will, in turn, not abuse your service. Understood?" Aidan nodded frantically and the team mirrored him.

"Yes sir," Yazmin said. Chaos gave a small, satisfied grunt and dropped Aidan. He hit the ground and rolled onto his knees, prostrating himself at Chaos' feet.

"Thank you for not killing me," he said, not looking up to meet Chaos' eyes. The demon sighed.

"Go."

Aidan and the team were gone in an instant. Chuckling, Chaos turned to Yazmin. She smiled and ran over to hug him tightly.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Don't thank me, Yazzy. Thank _him_." Chaos let his form melt away into Vincent's once more. The gunman was momentarily taken aback, then smiled ever so slightly and returned the hug with one arm.

"Let's go home."

"Okay."

The following week, after Yazmin's suspension was up, the Valentine household received a phone call from the office at the high school requesting a meeting with Yazmin and her father. Never one to be late, Vincent arrived five minutes early and went to pick Yazmin up from her class. He knocked politely, then answered the summons from within and stepped through the door.

"Oh…um…can I help you?" the teacher asked slowly. Vincent nodded.

"I'm here to pick up my daughter."

"Coming!" While Yazmin packed her things, Vincent fell into the Turk's standard resting position, hands clasped behind his back, and surveyed the room.

_Some of those girls are checking you out_, Chaos observed.

Nonsense.

_I'm not kidding. They've got hearts in their eyes. Congrats, Valentine. Thirty years in a coffin and you can still knock 'em dead._

You're imagining things.

_Not unless the six foot one inch exTurk in the black jeans and red button-up standing at the front of the room isn't you. Face it. These girls love every inch of you. You're the poster boy for the Mr. Tall, Dark, and Drop-dead Gorgeous pageant. _

Stop it before I blush and give these poor girls something _else_ to coo over.

_That's the spirit!_

Yazmin came up to stand beside her father.

"Let's go."

He heard the collective sigh as he let the door shut behind them

"So…any idea what this meeting is for?" Yazmin asked. Vincent shook his head.

"The office didn't say. We'll have to find out when we get there."

"All the girls in my class are hopeless," Yazmin muttered, abruptly changing the subject.

"Why do you say that?" Vincent asked, unfazed.

"All it took was a _look_ at you, and that's it. I'll be hearing about how hot you are for _weeks_."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"When you're my Dad? Yeah."

Upon arriving in the main office, Vincent and Yazmin were ushered into the conference room, where the principal, the two assistant principals, and several others waited.

"Mr. Valentine," the principal said at once. "Please, sit down." Vincent pulled out a chair for Yazmin before settling down himself.

"I assume there is a reason for my presence here?"

"There is, in fact." Vincent turned to survey the somewhat plump woman near the other end of the table.

"I don't believe we've been introduced," he murmured. The woman flushed, and Yazmin sighed. It was class all over again.

"I…I'm Aidan's mother, Melissa."

"I see. Then perhaps you might enlighten me? I wasn't told why I am here, and I have business to attend to elsewhere."

"These parents have reason to believe that you threatened their children," the vice principal said quickly. The principal nodded, wishing he was anywhere but the conference room.

"Threatened them to do what?" Vincent asked.

_It wasn't my fault!_ Chaos reminded him.

"To admit to false crimes against your daughter!" Another parent snapped. Vincent bristled.

"_False_, you say?"

"Yes, false," Melissa said firmly. "Our boys would never-"

"Never _what_?" Yazmin interrupted. Vincent shook his head.

"Not now, Yazmin. Let her speak."

Yazmin snorted and slumped back in her chair.

"Our boys would _never_ say such things, never mind attempt what was reported."

"But if they did?"

"Not possible."

"Then you suggest that my daughter fought them for no reason?"

"Now, now, let's not get too hasty," the principal pleaded. Melissa and Vincent ignored him.

"Yes, I do. And I suggest that you threatened my son and his friends with severe bodily harm if they didn't turn themselves in under false pretenses to put _your _daughter in the clear." Looking smug, Melissa crossed her arms and gave Vincent a chance to get a word in, confident that she had won.

Vincent smiled politely.

"Then you would be mistaken. I know when someone is lying, Miss Melissa. My daughter did not. Further more, she has been taught not to resort to violence unless the situation calls for it. In order to have felt the need to attack your son, Yazmin had to have been provoked, and I believe the insults directed at her and her mother were more than worthy of such a response."

"And the threats?" a balding man two seats down and across the table demanded. "What about them?"

"I simply told your boys to apologize at once and turn themselves in. Perhaps my appearance was intimidating, but _I _never threatened to hurt them in any way."

_I did, though_.

"By intimidating appearance, do you mean a weapon of some sort?" the assistant principal prodded. Vincent shook his head. "What, then?"

"The battledress I wore before I was married. It can make me look…almost inhuman."

"As if some silly outfit would scare my son," the balding man snorted.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes."

"Then perhaps I should show you what I was wearing." Vincent took his wallet out of his back pocket and extracted a photo, worn soft around the edges. "I am on the far right."

The photo was passed around, followed by soft murmurs when Vincent's companions were recognized.

"So," Melissa said after seeing the picture. "You wore that ridiculous outfit to intimidate the boys. And, if I'm right, that get-up includes a weapon."

"You would be right. However…my choice of dress aside, I have a question for the parents here."

"Go ahead," the principal murmured.

"Thank you. Now, I do not know if the actual insults and racial slurs my daughter was subjected to were recorded or not, but they are the reason for my question. These days, the people of Wutai are accepted and treated normally. Yazmin was called a whore, and someone suggested that she and her mother return to the Wutai brothel they had come from. Other, similar slurs were used; I haven't heard them from the mouth of any member of the current teenage generation. _Ever_. In fact…I haven't heard such language in twenty years. So…where did they learn those words? Who taught them? Someone older, obviously. Someone who would known the slurs when they were still in use."

"Mr. Valentine, please-" Vincent ignored the principal's attempts at interrupting him.

"Their _parents_, perhaps? People who might think it _wrong_ for me, born and raised here on this continent, to marry and have children with a woman from Wutai?"

"You're getting off topic," Melissa simpered. "Yuffie has absolutely nothing to do with-"

"You will refer to her as Ms. Kisaragi," Vincent hissed.

"You are married, aren't you? Why not _your_ name? Unless you've had that daughter of yours out of wedlock."

"Her bloodline will continue in name as well as blood. Mine will not. Do not call her by her first name again, unless she gives you express permission." Vincent wished he had a gun. Chaos shrieked curses.

"I'll call her what I want to call her, and nothing you say will make me-"

"Mom!" The door banged open, admitting a gaggle of boys.

"Where did you come from?" the principal asked. As usual, he was ignored.

"Matthias told me what was going on in here," Aidan announced. "Quit it. Everything Yazmin said about what we did is true, okay? Her dad came out to practice that same day and told us to apologize. That outfit freaked us all out, yeah, but you're all making it a big deal, and it's _not_."

"Matthias, I am very-" A slender brunette shook his head, cutting off the balding man's reprimand.

"I'm only doing what I _should_ be doing. We did some really messed up stuff to Yazmin; we would've done worse if she hadn't fought us like she did. We deserved what we got, and we deserved to be yelled at and told to report ourselves."

"And you guys are the ones who called Yazmin's mom a whore," another guy near the back added.

"Yeah!" the others chorused.

"What?" Vincent asked softly.

"Aidan, this is a _private_ meeting. All of you, get-" Melissa began. Vincent stood up and went over to look at Aidan and his team.

"Is this true?" he asked softly. Aidan nodded. "What did they say? And when?"

"It was at a parents' meeting- for the team, y'know? And Yazmin had been hanging around the bleachers at practice, 'til her mom came to get her, and our parents were there, so I guess they saw her then. At the meeting, they were saying how disgusting it was that she'd be allowed to have kids…that people from Wutai were mixing with other people. And then someone remembered that she was part of…the whole saving the world thing, from Meteor, and that there was only one other girl…Mom said she had huge boobs and looked like a whore, so Yazmin's mom must be one too…and there were a bunch of guys traveling with them, so they must've been rooming together, and sleeping together, and…"Aidan trailed off. Matthias picked up from there.

"And then my dad said that if Yazmin's mom was a slut, then so was her daughter, and that he bet Miss. Kisaragi wasn't married and only claimed to be, and brought men home for money, 'cuz a lot of guys will pay a whole lot of money for a mother-daughter team. And we were all there and listening."

"Matthias, I never-"

"Silence," Vincent growled. He turned to fully face the boys, putting his back to the room. "I'm impressed. It takes a lot to say those things."

"Matthias said something…after you left," Aidan fumbled. "About how, y'know, the football team is supposed to be made up of the good guys. We're supposed to be the role models for kids coming to the high school…an' stuff. It never really works but…it looks really bad if we act like animals. It makes _everyone_ look bad. We decided to fix what we could." He went quiet again, backed by agreeing murmurs from his teammates. Vincent turned back to the room.

"I think this meeting is over. I will ignore the wrongs done to me and mine for now, in respect to the confessions of these boys. After all…children disgrace us by behaving in public as we do at home, do they not? If I hear of any punishment for what these young men have done…well, it would be safer to not even consider trying it. Gentlemen, you are welcome in my home. I will be leaving now. Let's go, Yazmin."

Yazmin got up quickly and joined Vincent at the door. Vincent ushered the football team out, then urged his daughter to follow.

Now, Chaos. Let them know fear.

_With pleasure._

The change was quick this time, the huge wings snapping out to their full length momentarily, before Chaos folded them neatly against his spine. He turned back to grin at the assembled adults.

"How sad," he purred, reveling in the fear rolling off all of them. "Your children have grown up in the space of a moment and you can't even see it." Then, with a casual wave of his claw, he went out the door, changing back even as he closed it.

The rest of the day was uneventful…with the notable exception of Yazmin's request to join the football team. Vincent didn't know what to make of it.

_She been accepted, you moron. You managed to make her and that team- Aidan and Matthias in particular- very fond of her, mostly in a 'she's really great and wow, she can run' kind of way. It's only natural for her to want to be with the people she knows like her for her._

But _football?_ That's like organized war!

_And she's got bones like concrete. Trust me. I should know. Let her be. _

What about locker rooms?

_Either she'll be allowed into the girls' locker room, or the guys on the team won't be dumb enough to look. She's safe, either way. Quit worrying._

Then what do you suggest I do? Yuffie is gone and Yazmin is out. I'm bored.

_Consider what you'll do about the first girl Yazmin brings home. They're all gaga over you._

I beg your pardon?!

_Weren't you _listening_? All the girls from that class are utterly enamored with you, and 'there's no way he can be your dad' and 'he's your brother, right?' and 'Ohmigawd, tell me you have more of those at home!'. You're doomed._

Vincent groaned and hid his face in a copy of 'Dante's Inferno.


	2. Ryuu

You can call this a follow-up to Baby Steps if you like, but it really falls into the Daddy Dearest grouping. TSeng gets to be Daddy all on his own, without Elena to fall back on, just like Vincent and, soon, like Reno. Read and review, and tell me who else you'd like to see as a Dad (you can repeat, as these are not ocnnected unless mentioned), the sex of the child or children, and the situation. I love feedback!

Note: This is a direct tie-in with Coming Together and Daddy Dearest Chapter One

* * *

Lightning flashed over Midgar, bringing with it an answering crash of thunder to echo off buildings. It was late. A few people sat up and watched the storm, but most were soundly asleep.

"Dad?"

A lump stirred under the blankets. It resolved into an arm, which fumbled around until it found the edge of the blankets, the nightstand, and the lamp. Once the light switched on, Tseng propped himself up on one elbow, rubbing his eyes with his free hand.

"Ryuu? What is it?"

"I don't feel good. My stomach hurts."

"Mmph. Elena, Ryuu- oh."

"Mom's in Gongaga with the President."

Tseng sighed.

"Come here."

Ryuu shuffled over to the bed. In the dim light, he looked like a near-perfect copy of Tseng until you looked at his eyes. He had Elena's eyes. Tseng reached up and felt Ryuu's forehead.

"Feels like you have a fever," he murmured. "Do you think you can go back to sleep?"

Ryuu shook his head.

"I tried," he mumbled. "It didn't work."

"Alright."

Tseng slid out of bed, padded into the bathroom, and rummaged in the medicine cabinet. Ryuu followed him and leaned on the doorframe.

"This?" Tseng asked, holding up a bottle of aspirin, "or a cup of tea?"

"Tea."

"Tea it is. Come on."

Ryuu sat on the counter and watched Tseng bustle around the kitchen, graceful even in his pajamas in the middle of the night.



"You didn't wake Hoshiko, did you?"

"Why would I?"

"She hears everything," Tseng explained. "But I think we'd know if she was up."

Ryuu nodded. His little sister liked letting everyone know where she was and what she was doing every waking moment. If she was awake, then she would either be in the kitchen or on her way. There was no singing in the hallway, so she was still asleep. Singing was her latest hobby, and she did it nearly nonstop.

"Dad?"

"Mmhm?"

"Did you and Mom want to have me?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"I mean…Rufus said that I came really soon after you and Mom married, and that you weren't expecting me. Did…did you really want me, or did you just have me because Mom didn't want to kill me or give me away?"

"Where did _that_ come from?"

Ryuu flushed in embarrassment and stared at his feet.

"Sorry. I just…I wondered. I know you planned for Hoshiko. I helped. And I'm so much older, too…so, I just-"

"Ryuu, Elena and I wanted children. We knew that before we married. You weren't planned, but that doesn't mean we didn't want you. We weren't sure if we were _ready_, but what first-time parent is?"

"But you waited so long to have Hoshiko."

"Elena wasn't sure if she wanted another baby. It's no picnic for her, and she refused to quit working while she was pregnant. It just took awhile for her to decide that she wanted you to have a sibling."

"For seven _years_?"

"We tried…Elena miscarried three years after you were born." Tseng tapped the tea-ball against the edge of his mug and stared at his reflection in the tea.

"She did?"



"Yes. You would have had twin brothers. After that, she was afraid to try for another child. It took some time to convince her that it would be good for you, and for her. And I was right."

"I didn't know."

"She didn't want to tell you until she thought you were old enough. Nearly fourteen is old enough in my book. Here."

Ryuu took the mug and sniffed.

"What is it?"

"Catmint. It'll help with your stomach and with the fever."

"_Cat_mint?"

"It's just a name. Sugar?"

"Nuh-uh. Can we sit in the living room?"

"After you."

Ryuu curled up in Elena's armchair, watching his father over the rim of his mug. Tseng opened the curtains before he settled on the couch. They were quiet for awhile, content to sip tea and watch the storm. Eventually, Tseng's gaze shifted from the window to his son, folded up in his mother's armchair. They looked so much alike, but Tseng was thankful Ryuu wasn't like he had been at that age. Training had hardened him early on, and being a third son and fourth child left him with little personal time with his parents. By the time he was Ryuu's age, he had two younger siblings, both of whom cut in on the little time he had with his parents and family. His older brothers weren't willing to spend time with him until he proved that it would be worth the time taken. His older sister was too busy being the oldest daughter of the household. His younger brother and baby sister were too young and too close to the heart of his problems to be decent company. Ryuu was nothing like that- he was sensitive and friendly. Tseng and Elena made time for him. He had friends in school and friends in the children of Tseng and Elena's friends. Rufus' son, Ethan, idolized him. Vincent's daughter was teaching him to play football. It was nice to see that he could be a good father after having no real role model for it.

"Dad?"

"Hmmm?"



"How come you never talk about when you were a kid? Ethan and Yazzy say their dads do all the time. And Skye said Tifa talks about when she and Cloud were kids. Mom does."

"I have nothing pleasant to tell you."

"What?"

"You enjoyed being an only child, didn't you? Having Elena and me all to yourself?"

"Uh-huh."

"I had three older siblings. My parents had little time for any of them, let alone me, and much of my time was taken up in education and exhausting training. War was brewing on the horizon, and every able child had to be trained for battle. I also had a younger brother and sister, so you can imagine the chaos in the house. I spent most of my childhood alone with my thoughts."

"Mom always says you think too much."

"Perhaps I do."

"I want to hear about it anyway."

"Why?"

Ryuu hesitated, thinking his answer through before saying anything.

"I want to know what it was like," he said finally. "I want to be like you- you always have an answer, and it's usually right, and you're Boss Turk, which means you're the best. I can't be Boss Turk now, but I can start, and I have to know more about you to do that."

Maybe Ryuu was more like him than he'd thought.

"Save that for another night, or an afternoon, when you're more likely to remember what I tell you," Tseng sighed.

Thunder crashed overhead and the lights of the city blinked out. In her room, Hoshiko woke with a scream.

"I'll get it. Stay put- I don't want you tripping over anything."

"But-"



"If anyone is tripping over anything, it will be me. Your mother will not be pleased with me if she gets home to find you've hurt yourself wandering around the house in the dark. Stay there."

"Fine."

Tseng made his way carefully down the dark hall, stopping in his bedroom to fetch a flashlight before continuing on to Hoshiko's room. She was sitting up in bed, clutching her teddy bear and wailing.

"It's alright. The power just went out."

"Daddy?"

"That's right. It's only me. Calm down."

"I don't like it," Hoshiko whimpered. In the beam from the flashlight, Tseng could see her lip quivering, warning of serious tears to come.

"I know," he said soothingly. "Just go back to sleep. It'll be better when you wake up again."

"Stay," she begged, reaching for him.

"I can't, I-"

"I want Mommy."

"She's not here right now, Hoshiko. She's gone to Gongaga with the President. Don't you remember? She called before you went to school yesterday."

"_Mommy_."

"Don't cry, don't cry. I'll stay, okay? Make some room for me."

Hoshiko scooted to the side, pushing several of her impressive plushie collection off the edge of the bed. Tseng climbed in with her. As soon as he stopped moving, she threw herself on him, burrowing under his arm and hiding her face in his ribs.

"Loud," she mumbled.

"I know. That one was close, wasn't it?"

"Want Mommy."

"You can talk to her in the morning."



"Want a song."

"I can't sing."

"Want a _song_."

Tseng sighed. She'd keep repeating that until he gave in or she started to cry. It was never things that she insisted on, it was stories and songs. Elena was much better at handling the requests than he was, mostly because he couldn't sing. He ran a mental search on what he could do to keep her happy. Humming, or the tuneless songs he made up as he went that he'd used to put her to sleep when she was a baby. Tuneless songs it was.

Thirty minutes of aimless tunes later, Tseng tiptoed out of the room and carefully shut the door. He hobbled back into the living room, one leg completely asleep.

Ryuu was asleep when he got back, slumped over the side of the armchair. The nearly empty mug was on the floor on the other side of the chair.

Tseng smiled and picked the mug up, collected his own, and carried them both back to the kitchen. Score one for home remedies. Feeling rather proud of himself, he went back to Ryuu and began the rather awkward task of picking up 5 and a half feet of leggy teenager. It took a little maneuvering and some half-said words Elena forbid Reno to use in front of her children before he had Ryuu completely out of the chair and in a position in which he could be carried relatively easily.

"This was easier when you were tiny and cute," he muttered.

He tucked Ryuu back into bed, rinsed the mugs out, and went to bed, flicking a couple of light switches back into the off position.

--

The shrill ringing of Tseng's cell phone roused him in place of an alarm clock the following morning. Tseng groaned and reached blindly for it, only to find that his arm was pinned under a small body. He opened one eye to see what the problem was. It was Hoshiko, cuddled up against him with his arm clutched to her chest.

Rather than try to free his arm, Tseng rolled over and reached with the other hand. Phone in hand, he rolled back, narrowly missing Ryuu, who had apparently woken up again and followed his sister's example. Tseng was penned in until they decided to get up.

"Hello?"

"_Good morning."_

Tseng smiled.

"Morning, Elena."

"_You sound awfully proud of yourself for someone who I just woke up."_

"I'm stuck."

"_What?"_

"There was a storm last night, which spooked Hoshiko. She's got a death-grip on my arm."

"_And Ryuu?" _Elena asked, laughter distorting her voice.

"Also here. Came in last night feeling sick. I put him back in bed, but I also sang Hoshi to sleep and she's here anyway."

"_Sounds like you're doing just fine on your own. I told you it would be fine."_

"If you want to call a fever and an upset stomach fine."

"_If he wasn't throwing up, it's nothing to worry about. You're a better doctor than I am anyway."_

"If you say so."

"_I know so. There's something else, isn't there? You aren't telling me the whole story."_

"Just a little father and son time."

"_Meaning?"_

"Men only, I'm afraid. I can't tell you."

"_Tseng, that isn't fair!"_

"Of course it is. I say it is."

"_You can't just-"_

"I'm your boss. I can _'_just'."

"_I will _so _wake Rufus up and have him make you tell me," _Elena threatened. Tseng winced. Rufus was so not a morning person it was scary.



"I'll tell you when you get back. If we keep this up, the kids are going to wake up, and it's too early for that."

"_Fine. I'll hold you to it, thought. Don't you dare try to get out of it." _

"I wouldn't dream of it. Be safe."

"_Always. Say hi to the kids for me."_

"Mmhm."

"_Don't fall asleep with the phone in your hand."_

"Yes, dear."

"_Have a good weekend. Bye."_

Tseng put the phone back on the nightstand and settled back into his spot, careful not to jostle either of his bedmates.

"Mmph? Dad?"

"It's nothing. Go back to sleep."

"Wazzat Mom?"

"Mmhm. She says hello. Knowing her, she'll call later."

"Mmkay."

"Feeling any better?"

"No."

"You're not letting me get up, are you?"

"No."

Tseng sighed and pulled the blankets back over his head. It was a Saturday. Who cared how late he slept in, anyway?


	3. Kazuki

This one may be a little patchy, but I present to you Kazuki, Reno's son with an unknown woman named Emi. The theme here is firsts, as you will see, and I hope you enjoy it. I had fun writing it.

If there's someone you want to see being a Daddy, tell me and I'll see what I can do. Just because he's already had a child in this series does not mean he can't have a different one.

This chapter is not related to anything except Coming Together.

* * *

Kazuki's birth was the first of many firsts. This particular first was the first time Reno had made a commitment to a woman. Emi was beautiful, and sexy, and fun to be with, though no more than the other women he's slept with. What made her different was the baby she had with him. The baby she had told him about and hadn't killed, like two others he knew of and maybe others he didn't. He was expecting a girl, and, while he wasn't happy about it, he had a few names in mind that he was going to offer up after his daughter was born.

"Mr. Tarshil?"

It was always weird when people called him 'Mr.'

"Yeah?"

"It's a boy."

That floored him. All that expecting and it was a boy. He wanted to do a happy little dance, but he settled for a grin. That was more like it. Now he had a son to teach all his devious ways to. A son who, in a decade and a half, give or take, could talk girls with him. He needed a name. Aidan. Yes, he liked that. Strong, slightly different but not crazy, like Dante or Phineas or any of the other names celebrities had a bad habit of naming their spawn.

Emi named him Kazuki.

"It means hope," she said, not looking up from the blanket bundle in her arms.

"Actually," Reno began, "I was thinking maybe we could-"

"Did you carry him around for nine months?"

"Well, I-"

"No, you didn't. Did you have to deal with the morning sickness and the weight gain and the aches and pains?"

"I sorta-"

"No. Did you give birth?"

"No?"

"Exactly. I'm naming him Kazuki. Your name can be his middle one."

"It doesn't go too well with yours," Reno sighed. "Kazuki is fine."

And that was the first argument he lost to a woman.



--

The first lost argument was quickly followed by the first dirty diaper, the first middle-of-the-night feeding session, the first round of Baby Genius ™ CDs, and the first baby puke on his shirt. On a happier note, these firsts came in tandem with Kazuki's firsts: first smile, first night that he slept completely through, first semi-solid food, first word (Turk, which _did_ result in a happy jig on Reno's part), and first step. Reno's first major child-induced panic came right after the first step, when Kazuki stumbled against Reno's favorite ottoman, fell, and scraped his arm. Between the screaming that Kazuki was doing, the yelling that Emi was doing, and the trace of blood on Kazuki's arm, Reno thought he was going to die right then. Another first: the first time he thought having Kazuki was going to kill him.

--

Kazuki's first day of school came and went. Reno's first big fight with Emi came and went. On the day that Emi packed up and left, Kazuki had his first fist fight.

"Dad?" he called hesitantly, closing the door behind him. There had been no one waiting at the bus stop for him. Like Mom had told him, he waited for ten minutes, then came home, letting himself in with the key he'd been carrying since the beginning of the year. Being in third grade made him feel grown up and important, more so than the fight that had happened just after school let out. Dad liked to fight, but Kazuki didn't understand why. "Mom?"

"What are you doing home?"

There was Dad, sitting at the kitchen table. There was a glass of amber liquid on the table beside him, and a dark bottle.

"School's over for the day. Where's Mom?"

"She left."

"Oh." Kazuki crossed the floor, climbed into his chair at the table, the one across from Dad, and pulled his bag into the desk. "I have a permission form for our field trip," he said, digging it out.

"What happened to your face?"

"Huh?"

Reno indicated his left eye and the side of his jaw.

"I got in a fight."



"Didja win?"

He shook his head. Reno's lip curled up in a sneer.

"Figures," he muttered, taking a gulp from his glass. "Your mama gave you a sissy name and you grow up to be a sissy."

"I'm not a sissy!"

"Sure you are. Otherwise, you'd've won. Bet the other guy got away without any marks."

"He did not!"

The next thing Kazuki knew, there was broken glass and alcohol all over the wall, the floor, and him. Dad threw back what remained of his drink and stormed into his room.

It wasn't until later that he found out that when Dad said Mom had left, he meant forever.

--

Kazuki's first move happened several months later. Dad had calmed down after awhile, and they'd picked the new apartment out together. It was closer to downtown and to Reno's work, but too far from school. Kazuki had to transfer. He ignored this, though, happy to pick the color of paint for his room and help arrange everything. It made him feel grown up and important again.

Instead of the small branch school he'd been at before, Kazuki found himself at the main city elementary, suddenly thrown into an entirely different society. Many of the kids there were from families who had lived above plate before Meteor, and they still had the money and, in some cases, the power. Ethnic minorities were exactly that- minorities, and it was plain that he belonged to one.

--

Two weeks after he entered the new school, Kazuki came home in tears because of the things that had been said to him. Dad wasn't back from work yet; he hardly ever was, but they'd worked that out easily. Instead of a lock with a key, their front door opened with a seven digit code and a finger-print scan.

When Reno returned, carrying Wutai takeout, he found Kazuki curled in the armchair he'd picked out when they'd moved in, clutching one of the pillows from Reno's bed to his chest.



"What happened?" Reno asked, expecting another fight. He almost hoped that it had been another fight, just so he could prove that he could handle it better than he had last time.

"Noah and Pablo called me a Nip," Kazuki said softly. "And I went and looked it up, and I saw what it meant."

"Shit. I didn't think that-"

"And when we went to lunch, all the older girls were asking if I'm a boy or a girl."

"Where'd they get a dumb idea like that?" Reno snorted. "You're a boy."

"They say I look like a girl."

"Most boys your age with Wutai blood do."

"They hate me."

"They do not."

"You weren't there!"

"Do you think I haven't gone through hell for the way I look, or act, or for my background? I know what you're going through. It's not gonna get any easier until you have something to defend yourself with."

"Like?"

"Like being able to fight."

"I don't want to fight."

"I said _like_, okay? It just has to be something that they don't do as well as you. I pounded every jerk that came my way through most of high school. After awhile, they figure it out and leave you alone."

"I want them to leave me alone _now_."

--

The insults were not a onetime thing. They got worse and worse, until Reno finally decided to call in the cavalry. Up until then, he hadn't asked for help raising his son.

"You're skipping school today," he announced at breakfast. Kazuki choked on his Pop Tart.



"_What_?"

"There's someone I want you to meet."

"But I can't-"

"This is important."

When they arrived at the ShinRa Building, Reno marched Kazuki into Tseng's office and left. When they were reunited that evening, Kazuki was in a considerably better mood.

--

Four years passed. Reno had hoped that, as Kazuki grew, he'd grow out of the pretty looks. No such luck. Kazuki got taller, but didn't fill out in the slightest. His hair, which was red like Reno's but darker, more a blood color than Reno's grab-you-by-the-eye-sockets red, had the perfect sleekness characteristic of Wutains, and he wore it long in imitation of both Tseng and Reno. Loose, it framed his face in a beautiful but feminine way. He'd gotten the sleek, feline facial structure both his parents had, all fine angles and smooth skin and even more prettiness. Reno's eyes and perfectly pale skin completed the look. Reno gave up hoping that Kazuki would ditch the bullies by looking tougher- he'd met scarier poodles.

--

Most days, Kazuki caught the bus to the ShinRa building and sat in Tseng's office, listening to stories about Wutai and getting the support Reno couldn't give him. It was one thing to be looked down on for being a punk, and entirely another for being looked down on for being from Wutai. Tseng had weathered the storm of hatred for the Wutain people that had sprung from the Wutai War and he had survived. His stories and methods for handling the abuse worked, to some extent at least, for Kazuki.

--

One night shortly after the beginning the Kazuki's second semester in eighth grade, Reno woke up with the distinct feeling that something was wrong. He was usually right about these things- in the past his hunches had alerted him to the first (and last) burglar at the old apartment, the first time Kazuki missed the bus, and the first time Kazuki got held after class because he was blamed for starting a fight. He got up quickly, padding out into the living room, a good central location from which he could access the rest of the apartment easily.

The wrongness turned out to be Kazuki, huddled on the bathroom floor with a fever and the worst upset stomach Reno had ever seen. He found that one out the hard 

way, when he scooped Kazuki up to carry him back to his room, thinking that the fever was the real problem. Halfway down the hall, Kazuki moaned, tried to push away from his father, and threw up. Not sure whether he should laugh or yell, Reno remembered the first time Kazuki had done that as a baby. He sighed, carried Kazuki back to the bathroom, and stripped his pajamas off. When he was reasonably sure that there wasn't anything left for Kazuki to throw up, he herded him back to bed, only to discover that he'd thrown up in bed first. Resigning himself to some vigorous cleaning and muttering some words he'd sworn not to say in Kazuki's presence, he transferred Kazuki to his own bed, pointed out the trashcan beside the bed, and marched off to clean.

He shuffled back into his room just after 2 o'clock, cleaned out the trashcan, and rummaged for clean clothes.

"Dad?"

"You should be asleep."

"My stomach hurts."

"I bet it does. You're missing school tomorrow-today."

"I have an algebra test," Kazuki protested. Reno laughed. "What?"

"Unless you want to try passing by puking on your test, you're staying here. Anyway, I don't want to be blamed for sending you to school sick and getting half the kids there sick as well. Unless you got it from one of them. Anything been going around lately?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Huh. Wonder where you got it from, then."

He found a serviceable pair of sweatpants and pulled them on. With luck, he'd still get a few hours of sleep. On the bright side, tomorrow was his day off, so there wouldn't be any fussing about how to take care of Kazuki. It was nice that this problem actually had the decency to work with his schedule. Every other time something came up, he had to wrangle time off to deal with it. Another very welcome first.

"Try to sleep," he said, heading for the door. "You're gonna need it."

"Dad?"

Reno paused in the doorway. "Yeah?"

"Would you…um…w-would you stay in here? Like you and Mom used to?"



Reno hesitated. That had been one of those Emi things, something she said her parents had allowed her to do, so why shouldn't Kazuki be allowed to as well? It had meant several untimely interruptions and separation from his pillow to provide consolation after nightmares. Not his favorite practice, and even less so after Emi had left. The rare times they shared a bed had come immediately after Emi had left, and after they had moved. Never again, after that.

"I guess. Lemme turn the lights off first."

"'kay."

Kazuki was already passed out when Reno returned. He could have gone out and slept on the couch, like he'd planned, but he shrugged and slipped under the blankets from the other side of the bed. He was getting soft in his old age, as Rufus liked to tease him. There had been a time when he'd've snorted, said something along the lines of 'fat chance' (only far ruder), and slept on the couch anyway. Even in his sleep, Kazuki gravitated to his father, stretched out against him. He was uncomfortably hot, and Reno didn't get much sleep.

He spent the following day watching bad movies with Kazuki and ranting at Rufus over the phone, telling him how Tseng was a bio hazard, wildly contagious, and a danger to all people under the age of twenty. He would have gone off at Tseng, but he'd only managed two minutes of irate scolding before Tseng had dropped the phone and not picked up again.

Reno had to work the next day, so he took Kazuki with him, bundling him up on a couch so he could nap while Reno did the paperwork Tseng usually handled and found the time to call Tseng again and complain.

--

Kazuki grew again shortly after entering high school. He'd been slender before, but now he was tall and slender, and still too pretty for his own good. Tseng began to supplement their chats with kick-boxing lessons- Kazuki refused to learn anything blatantly violent- and forced Reno to join in, the first father-son activity they'd really done. By the beginning of his sophomore year, Kazuki was tall, slender, and strong, but still unwilling to stand up for himself.

--

"Hey, Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I bring someone over for dinner tomorrow night?"



"Who?"

"Er…June."

"A chick?"

"Uh-huh."

"Your girlfriend?"

"Yeah."

"Sure, go ahead."

June was tall, pretty, and seemed an ideal match for Kazuki. She was a good student and active at school, but tended to keep to herself. A quiet girl for a quiet boy. Dinner went well. Kazuki made plans to bring her over again. Reno did an internal dance for joy. Finally, Kazuki was doing something as planned! Not once since he'd been born had he adhered to his father's unspoken and unenforced expectations. Another glorious first.

--

Reno's phone rang while he was somewhere between Healin and Midgar.

"Yo."

"Reno?"

"What's up, Bossman?"

Rufus' sigh was heavy static over the phone.

"Kazuki got himself into some trouble."

"What kinda trouble?"

"It's sexual. Tseng is with him now- he's not having much luck calming him down. How soon can you be here?"

"Um…a little over an hour, if I gun it."

"Gun it. We're at the school."

--

Reno found Kazuki and Tseng in a small conference room off the main office. As soon as he stepped in the door, Kazuki threw himself at his father, sobbing brokenly. 

Reno staggered for the nearest chair, half pulling Kazuki into his lap. Kazuki was far too big for such a position, but clung anyway. A long, angry scrape ran up the side of his face.

"What happened?" Reno asked

Kazuki blubbered something entirely incoherent.

"His girlfriend came on to him," Tseng sighed. "He reciprocated, and she brought in several friends to join in. He panicked, and they tried to force him. It…it didn't end well."

"Meaning?"

"He managed to throw one of the girls off. The others too offense and attacked him. He didn't fight back."

"Sounds about right," Reno murmured.

"About _right_, Mr. Tarshil?" Some suit was standing in the doorway. "About _right_? Your son threw a defenseless girl into a _wall_. He hurt all of the girls present."

Kazuki's sobbing increased in volume.

"Y' actually expect me to believe that? An' who are you, anyway?"

"Ezekiel Mathers. I've been asked to defend the girls."

"A lawyer," Reno spat.

"Perhaps."

Reno stood up, leaving Kazuki on the chair, and marched over to Mr. Mathers.

"You and 'the girls' have your facts wrong," he growled. "Kazuki wouldn't do that- he hates gettin' violent. I should know."

"Maybe you don't know your son as well as you believe you do, Mr. Tarshil."

"Aw, don't 'Mr. Tarshil' me, buddy. C'mere. I wanna talk to you in private."

"This is private."

"Where my son can't hear. C'mon."

There was a small area of open floor space in the vault the school kept student records in. Reno went in there and waited for Mr. Mathers to catch up.



"Okay. You tell me what happened."

Mr. Mathers sighed.

"Very well. Your son lured June to the stacks with the promise of a gift. Once there, he initiated some rather heavy petting, then told June to perform a vulgar act-"

"Which was?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"What did he want her to do?"

"Her exact words were that he wanted her to suck him off, Mr. Tarshil." Mr. Mathers shuddered. "When she refused, he struck her. Her cry was heard by several other girls in the vicinity- they came to her aid, and were similarly injured. Five girls, in all. Your son faces charges of harassment and assault."

Reno sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets, his shoulders slumping.

"Okay. Can I talk to the girls? Make sure you aren't doctoring it up?"

"I can assure you that I-"

"Yes or no?" Reno growled.

"Yes."

"Great. Take me to them."

The girls were gathered in the back room of the nurse's office, sitting together on two cots someone had pushed together. The five of them were looking awfully calm for girls who had just been attacked.

"Oh! Mr. Tarshil!" June leaped to her feet at once.

"Hey, June. I hear you and Kazuki got a little carried away."

"Carried away?" June sniffed, flicking her ponytail off her shoulder. "He _attacked_ me. He threw me into a wall."

"You look pretty good for someone who's been thrown into a wall."

"I hit with my back."

"And you're walking'? He's thrown me and I've had t' stay on the floor fer awhile."



"You let him throw you?" one of the other girls squeaked.

"Well, yeah. We spar. Kid's gotta know how to defend himself. I just didn't know he'd use it on anyone else. You girls wanna tell me what happened? I don't trust that suit who's supposed to be defendin' you."

"He's gross," a small brunette agreed. "But he's good."

"We'll tell you," the redhead said. "Sit down, Mr. Tarshil."

"Just call me Reno," he said, sitting on the edge of the bed. This was greeted with a chorus of giggles. "So…what happened?"

"He said he had a present for me," June said, settling down beside him. "So I went to meet him in the Library. Thenhe told me that the present was…well, that it was in his pants, and then he said that he wanted me to give him a blowjob, and I said no. He slapped me. When the girls came because they'd heard me, he picked me up and threw me into the nearest bookshelf, then went after them."

"I'm real sorry to hear that," Reno murmured. "I've never really had enough time to spend with him, y'know? Guess it got to him."

"What about his Mom? He never talks about her."

"Her? She walked out on me when Katz was little. About…eight years old, I guess. Just up and left."

"Sorry."

"Hey, not your fault. Can the rest of you tell me what happened to each of you? I want the truth."

"Really?" June asked.

Reno nodded.

"'course I do. No point in him not learning a lesson, right? He oughtta get what's coming to him- y' never hurt a pretty girl."

"You think I'm pretty?"

"I think you're gorgeous."

--

Reno strutted back into the conference room sometime later and smiled.



"Better get your lying ass out of my sight now, Mathers," he chuckled. "You don't have a case."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Girls're lying. I've got proof, and I've been told that you know about it. So…leave now and we'll forget you were involved, okay?"

"Reno, explain yourself," Tseng demanded.

Reno grinned and set a pocket-sized recorder on the table. He pressed play, and a series of detailed accounts of the encounter began to play. Each one was different, even when the same girl was telling it. Reno's voice came in from time to time, coaxing the tellers deeper into his trap. Believing he was ashamed of Kazuki and looking for a young lover of his own, they fought to make themselves look perfect in his eyes- defenseless, innocent, whatever they thought might appeal. Then June decide that cunning might be the trick, and she spilled the beans.

--

"Dad?"

"Uh-huh?"

"You didn't…kill them, did you?"

"Kill who?"

"June's parents."

"Why do you ask?"

"I just-"

"No, I didn't. Couldn't. They're too valuable. Who'd have thought someone would try and use you to get Rufus, huh? Never saw that one coming."

"I'm sorry."

Reno put his magazine down and looked at Kazuki, who was curled up on the couch.

"What for?"

"For…all of this. It's a mess."



"What mess? You didn't fight unless you had to, you did the least amount of damage possible, and you wound up leading us right to the idiots who've been trying to get at Rufus for months. You couldn't have done much better."

Kazuki blushed.

"Really?"

"Really. I'm proud of you, yo."

It was the first time he'd ever said so, he realized, watching the way Kazuki's smiled lit up his face. But it would not, he promised himself, be the last time.


	4. Tansy and Lisbeth AU

So....this was a request of **DreadPirateSephy **that I have completed. It has also prompted me to go in a different direction with Daddy Dearest. I now plan to do two things with it: one set with the characters in movie/game verse, and one with them in an AU universe like the one you and I inhabit. This is the first of those, and will be marked accordingly. Can any of you tell what movie I got some of my ideas for this from?

And here's a note to all of you: I'm still accepting requests, am still getting them done, and am seeking ideas for the other Daddy Dearest pieces. Is there something you want to see your favorite pretty-boy go through with his child/ren? Tell me and it just might happen!

* * *

Tansy Joanna and Lisbeth Marie came into Sephiroth's life when they were just short of ten months old. Until that point, he hadn't known they existed, but he tripped over them on his way out to pick up the paper one windy Saturday and had reality thrust into his face in the form of twin baby girls and a small pile of baby clothes and supplies.

_Sephiroth,_

_The girls are yours. I know I should have told you about them before now, but I thought I could take care of them on my own. I did well, I think, but there's a job I really need to take and I can't have children if I want it. I've been taking care of them for eighteen months anyway, so it's your turn. I'll call once I'm settled in._

_Cora_

Who was Cora? He sat on the floor and thought about it, then remembered the curvy little brunette he'd picked up at a high-end gentleman's club some time ago. She'd been a tiger in bed and a lovely piece of arm candy, but they'd both grown tired of each other and drifted apart, as chance lovers tend to. Now, almost two years later, he was staring at the results of a couple of months of wild lovemaking: a pair of twin girls in matching carriers, dressed in matching outfits with different colored bracelets to help him determine which one was which (green for Tansy Joanna, purple for Lisbeth Marie).

Once the situation had sunk in, Sephiroth did the only thing he could think of: he called for help.

-----------------------------------------------

Zack Fair liked sleeping in on Saturday- it was the only chance he usually got, given the schedule he tried to stick to and the hours he kept, so he didn't appreciate being woken up at seven thirty on a Saturday morning by the Imperial March. Sephiroth. It figured. No one else he knew was sick and twisted enough to be up and calling people _that_ early in the morning on a weekend.

"_What_?" he growled into the phone.

"I'm a father."

"Call me again and panic in…..at least six months, okay? You don't need to worry until the kid's born."

"They have been!"

"Huh?"

"They're nine months old already! What do I do?"

Zack gave his phone a confused look.

"Wait, what?"

"Cora left them outside my door!"

"Cora? Who's Cora?"

"Their mother!"

"They? There's more than one?"

"Twins!"

He groaned. So much for a peaceful day.

"I'll be over in a bit, okay? Just take 'em inside and make sure they're okay. And breathe- I can hear you panicking."

"Okay."

---------------------------------------

When Zack arrived at Apartment A14 forty-five minutes later, he found Sephiroth on one side of the living room, staring at the carriers on the other side. Both girls had begun to fuss, protesting the extended stay in the carriers, and their noise wasn't encouraging Sephiroth's approach.

"That's them?"

Sephiroth nodded mutely.

"And….you just left them in those baskets?"

Another nod.

"Think about it. Would _you_ want to be left in a basket for God knows how long?"

"No?"

"Exactly. Take them out."

"Me? You do it."

"Why should I?"

"You know more about kids than I do."

Zack snorted but went over to the nearest carrier. The baby within was wearing a green bracelet and reached for him when he bent over her.

"What I know about kids is only what I've learned from the other guys. Not much of that helps, anyway. Yeah, this one's definitely yours."

"How can you tell?"

"The eyes."

Sephiroth edged around one of the couches and tiptoed over to look into Tansy's face. Sure enough, she had faintly luminous bluish-green eyes with a distinctly feline shape to them, just like he did.

"Those are mine," he admitted.

"I bet the other one's got 'em, too. Here, hold her."

Zack thrust Tansy into Sephiroth's hands and went for the second carrier. While he wrestled Lisbeth out of her carrier, Sephiroth struggled to find a way to hold the squirming child Zack had handed him.

"Yep, she's got your eyes too," Zack chuckled, holding Lisbeth up so Sephiroth could see her blinking at him. "Congratulations, Seph, you're a dad."

"I can't be a father!"

Sephiroth's yell sent Tansy into a crying fit. Lisbeth joined in. Sephiroth jumped, nearly dropped Tansy, then fumbled her like a freshman at football tryouts.

"Support her head," Zack ordered, balancing Lisbeth in the crook of his arm and crouching to rummage through one of the boxes that had been left with the babies. "Come on, she's the size of a watermelon, she should be easy for you to hold."

"_How_?"

Zack straightened with a huff and marched over to his friend. With his free hand, he rearranged Tansy so she wasn't in immediate danger of falling and went back to the boxes.

Tansy chose that moment to produce an appalling smell. Sephiroth blanched. Zack winced.

"I'll…..go get reinforcements, okay? There're diapers in the box by the end of the other couch." He got halfway to the door before he had to turn around and put Lisbeth in Sephiroth's lap. "There. I'll be back."

---------------------------------------------

Zack returned with a mildly hungover Reno and a _very_ hungover Cloud in tow. Lisbeth was lying on the couch, quietly chewing on one of Sephiroth's favorite leather gloves.

They could hear Sephiroth from the entry.

"For the love of God, stop squirming! I said stop squirming! Don't move!"

His pointless orders were accompanied by giggling.

"Seph, it's been over half an hour! What are you doing?"

"I don't know!"

"Do something with that one, okay?" Zack said, nodding at Lisbeth. "I'll go see what Seph's up to."

What Sephiroth was up to was trying to change Tansy's diaper while she squirmed and giggled on a towel in the bathtub. Sephiroth was hunched over, trying to hold her still and failing miserably, thanks to his unwillingness to get a decent grip on her.

"No luck?"

"No luck," Sephiroth groaned, backing up to lean against the counter. "Why does she enjoy being soiled?"

"Probably because she doesn't know any better and you're making a big deal about it."

Sephiroth threw Zack a disgusted look.

"If you're so smart, then you do it."

"She's not my kid."

"Did you come in here to help me or to watch?"

"Well, help, but-"

"Then help!"

Zack gritted his teeth, knelt beside the tub, and grabbed for the edge of Tansy's diaper. He got it halfway off, got a look under it, then groaned and let go.

"Dear _God_, Seph. I'm not doing it."

"But-"

"She's _your_ kid."

"What's the problem, yo?"

Both Sephiroth and Zack turned on Reno, who was leaning casually around the door frame, and dragged him into the bathroom.

"Fix it," Sephiroth demanded, shoving Reno towards the tub.

"Fix what?"

"_That_."

Reno took a long look at Tansy, then sighed.

"You're a couple of idiots. It's just a dirty diaper."

"Fix it!"

"In a sec. Gotta get a few things."

He strolled out of the room, humming, and made his way back into the living room. He was back in a few minutes, carrying a bright pink bag with little kittens scattered all over it.

"This," he said, putting it on the counter, "is a diaper bag. Everything you need to handle a kid can be put into one of these."

Sephiroth stared at the pinkness that was clashing violently with his black, white, and dark green color scheme. Then he looked at Reno, bent over the tub with a box of wipes in one hand and a clean diaper balanced on the tub edge. Then he looked at Zack, standing by the door and looking quite relieved that he'd gotten out of diaper duty.

"I thought you knew something about children," he muttered.

"I do!"

"Like what? Call for help doesn't seem very helpful."

"Well….I called a couple of the guys on my way to get Cloud. Pretty much all they could tell me was hand the baby off to Mom when it cries, be prepared to get no sleep at all for weeks, and that life is gonna be a cycle of feed it, burp it, change it, feed it, burp it."

"You knew how to hold her."

"I don't know much that's really practical, okay? And they all think I've gone and knocked some chick up, so you get to do damage control and save my reputation, since it's your fault."

"_My_ fault?"

"Here. She's done. A diaper is no big deal, you two. Easy problem to fix." Reno straightened, holding Tansy out for Sephiroth to take. She reached for him. Sephiroth flinched.

Zack lifted Sephiroth's arms and forced him to take Tansy, tucking her back into his arm and playfully flipping the end of Sephiroth's impressive ponytail over for her to play with.

"_Not_ the _hair_," Sephiroth hissed, tossing his head to get his hair out of the way. "The last thing I want is _drool_ in my hair."

Tansy started to cry.

"I'm not fixing that, yo," Reno announced. "You brought it on yourself."

"Put your finger in her mouth," Zack suggested.

"_What_?"

"That's one thing I hear works. Put your finger in her mouth- upside down, so you don't scratch her."

Sephiroth hesitated, then poked his pinky into Tansy's mouth. She stopped mid-cry, surprised, then closed her mouth and sucked, eyes closing. Sephiroth looked down at her, silent and still for the first time since her arrival.

"That's _it_?"

"Not always, yo," Reno snickered. "She'll give up on that as soon as she gets hungry and realizes that there's no milk coming out of your finger."

"Where's the other one?" Zack asked. "Lisbeth?"

"With Cloud."

"Can he handle a baby? He's practically a kid himself."

"Go take a look."

They filed down the hall and peered into the living room. Cloud was stretched out on the couch not cluttered with baby things, sound asleep with one hand on Lisbeth, who was stretched out on Cloud's stomach and perfectly happy chewing on a set of plastic keys.

Sephiroth looked at Reno as though he'd just beamed down from another planet.

"How did you do that?"

"Real easy. I told Cloud to lie down, which he did, 'cuz he's hungover and all he wants to do is sleep, and then I put her on him, put his hand on her, and got those keys from the bag so she wouldn't try to crawl off and find something to play with."

"_Where_ did you learn all this?"

Reno shrugged.

"Community service, in college."

"What for?"

"My roommate, actually. A couple of charges for breaking and entering. I got slapped with accomplice, since I roomed with him and _had_ to have known what he was up to- which I didn't. Since I hadn't actually handled any of the stuff, I had to do about a year of community service. Someone thought it was funny to put me at a daycare, and they needed people with the two-years and under group, so that's where I went."

"And you _remember_ it all?"

"Kinda hard to forget. I did spend a year in the most traumatic environment I've ever been in, after all."

Sephiroth whimpered.

-----------------------------------------------

Within a week, Reno had schooled his unwilling pupil in the basics of childcare and Sephiroth understood enough of the mechanics of feeding, changing, bottle making, and bathing to get by without constant help. This came as a relief to Zack and Cloud, both of whom had spent far too much time at the apartment in the last few days. Zack was more vocal about the situation: he had better things to be doing than holding Tansy while Sephiroth fought to get milk into Lisbeth's mouth instead of down her front. Namely, flirting with one of his handful of on and off girlfriends. Cloud simply looked at the twins with an expression of bewilderment and allowed them to pull on his spikes as long as they didn't start drooling on them. He, at least, had been around small children, although they had been four when he'd met them, and he wasn't so put off by the smells and sounds they made.

Then came the real challenge: Sephiroth's vacation was over, and he found himself faced with the daunting prospect of getting two nine month old girls and all their supplies into his office at 8 o'clock in the morning.

"Don't look at me," Zack said shortly, screwing the lid onto a baby bottle Sunday night. "I have to be on site at seven. I'm not helping."

"I've got class," Cloud reminded him.

"I work across town, yo."

He was alone.

At six on Monday morning, Sephiroth made coffee, made bottles, and went to collect Baby Number One from the guest room that had been turned into a hasty nursery. All Reno's attempts at teaching him their names had gone in one ear and out the other, so they were referred to as Baby One and Two, or by their bracelet colors. Both were wearing footed pajamas (he refused to call them footy pjs, no matter what Reno said about speaking nicely to the twins), and they couldn't go into work wearing them. He had a few minutes, and clothes he'd picked out the night before.

Fifteen minutes later, Tansy was wearing a green shirt with tiny pink flowers all over it and one green sock.

Another five minutes later, the second sock was on.

After another ten minutes, she was wearing a white jumper, but it was on backwards.

At the forty minute mark, Sephiroth put Tansy into her carrier, handed her a toy to chew on, and went to dress Lisbeth.

By the time Lisbeth was dressed- in an outfit that matched Tansy's except for the purple instead of green shirt- the coffee was ready, the bottles were cold, and it was seven-fifteen.

Bottles were made again, Sephiroth gulped down a cup of coffee and a piece of dry toast, and he grabbed the diaper bag. Ready to go.

Or not. He stood by the door, trying to figure out how he was going to carry both bulky carriers and the bag, plus his briefcase and coffee mug.

------------------------------------

At eight thirty, Sephiroth strode into work with a pink diaper bag slung far enough over his shoulder to keep it resting against his back, carrying a large oval laundry basket with his briefcase balanced on top of it. The basket contained two baby girls in matching outfits, a stuffed bear, a ring of plastic keys, and a travel mug wedged carefully between them.

Andais, his secretary, didn't even blink when he carried the basket in.

"Have a good vacation, sir?"

Sephiroth grunted.

Andais picked up the day planner and opened it.

"You have a meeting in fifteen minutes, and lunch with some bigwig who wants you to do something for an ad campaign of his. It sounded like another mostly naked modeling job, so if you want me to, I can get you out of it. And you have to have a couple of letters out by three this afternoon."

"Thank you."

"Should I check the directory for babysitters?"

"Please."

--------------------------------

Yuffie Kisaragi was perky, bouncy, happy, and loud. She did, however, come recommended, so Sephiroth didn't worry too much about showing her around the house on Friday morning and telling her what she could or could not touch. Satisfied that the girls were in good hands, he went to work.

By noon, he'd made three phone calls home to check on how the sitter was doing. On the third call, she'd picked up and told him, gently, that "they aren't going to get up and walk away, and they aren't old enough to get into trouble. Stop worrying."

"Might I suggest getting your sitter to come here, so you can see the girls during the day?" Andais ventured, whisking Sephiroth's coffee cup away.

"What?"

She repeated the comment.

"No, I just don't want Cora bringing a law suit down on my head for child abuse when she gets back and takes them."

"Where did she go, anyway?"

"Some movie being filmed in Europe."

"And she couldn't have children?"

"I'm under the impression that it's a porn film. Again."

"She was the stripper, wasn't she?"

"Yes."

Andais snorted.

"And you think she's coming _back_?"

"What?"

"A stripper can't have children if she wants to keep bringing in the rich men, Sephiroth. She's dumped the kids on you so she can go on seducing the rich and powerful and living the life she's gotten used to. Get used to being a single Dad."

Sephiroth stared at Andais, envisioning years of having two children to look after. No more Saturday nights spent dancing and drinking in the high-end establishments of the city. No weekends in the tropics, or spur-of-the-moment ski trips. No bringing women back to the apartment, either- the last thing he needed them seeing was the girls. Besides, he wouldn't be going anywhere that he might be picking women up, anyway.

---------------------------------------------------

Cora sent birth certificates a month later, followed by papers making Sephiroth out to be the girls' legal guardian, as well as a DNA test proving that they were indeed the parents of said children.

Sephiroth took the twins to Reno's apartment, left them there, and spent several days hiding in his own apartment, throwing the tantrum to end all tantrums. Cora's number wasn't working. The number for the set she was working at was manned by someone who spoke no language Sephiroth could manage.

Eventually, Zack pried Sephiroth out of the apartment, dragged him downtown, and forced him to face facts: he was now officially a single father and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it, so he'd better start acting like a responsible adult.

"I'll even help," Zack offered. "First thing we have to do is make that guest room into a real room for the girls."

-------------------------------------------

The September birthday party went better than planned, with celebratory baby food for Tansy and Lisbeth and strong drinks for the adults.

---------------------------------------------

By November, visitors to Sephiroth's office had to watch where they were walking to avoid stepping on toys, which generally resulted in loud screaming from the owners of said toy and a quiet glare from their father.

Yuffie was quite happy to be hired on as a permanent fixture in the twins' life. Her exuberance rubbed off on Sephiroth, just a little.

-------------------------------------

December rolled around, and Christmas. Party season. Sephiroth politely turned down several party invitations before one arrived that surprised him. It was from a local modeling agency that he frequently worked with, one that had supplied him with several girlfriends in the past.

_You and your family are cordially invited to the annual Valentine Christmas Party. The party begins at 8pm on December 20__th__ and will be held at 2087 Triviz. Dress is black tie, daycare will be provided. _

On the 20th, Sephiroth arrived at the party in a custom tuxedo. Tansy and Lisbeth, now a year and a half old, were dressed in matching dresses, both dark gray, with green or purple accents according to who was who. Sephiroth had had the dresses designed and made specifically for the evening.

Three women were on him before he made it as far as the main room. Two of them picked up a girl each, and the third draped herself on Sephiroth's arm.

"I never knew you were a family man," she purred. "Are you married?"

"No. Their mother….left them to me."

"Oh, the poor dears!" one of the other two cooed. "It must be hard being a single father!"

"I manage."

Children, he discovered, were a good way to attract members of the opposite sex.

---------------------------------

Shortly after the twins turned two, Cora returned. Her current boyfriend had dumped her and she was out of money, work, and a home. Naturally, she went running back to the place she was sure she had left to her: Sephiroth's apartment.

When Sephiroth answered the door, Tansy and Lisbeth were dancing to a children's music video. Sephiroth had been participating, and answered the door in sweats and a ponytail, panting. Dancing was not a spectator sport when you were holding, twirling, and bouncing two small girls.

"Cora?" he said, not quite believing what he was seeing.

"Sephiroth!" she cried, throwing herself on him. "I've missed you! How have you been? How are the girls?"

"Daddy?" Lisbeth asked, peering around the corner.

"It's nothing, Lizzy. Go back and play with Tansy, alright?"

"'kay."

"_Nothing_?" Cora repeated.

"Yes. Nothing. Leave."

"I'm their mother!"

"You _left_ them at my _doorstep_ when they were nine months old. You sent paperwork naming me sole guardian. You _abandoned_ them. I don't want you anywhere near my daughters. Get out before I call security."

"You can't keep me from them!" Cora wailed. "I gave birth to them! They're _mine_!"

"Wrong," Zack hissed. Cora jumped- she hadn't heard him coming up the stairs.

"Who are _you_?" she demanded.

"Best friend and favorite uncle. Seph, want me to get her downstairs?"

"Please. How did you know she was here?"

"Doorman said some brunette with tits and an ass that she wasn't born with came in here like she owned the place and hit the button direct to you. Thought I'd come up the stairs and catch her by surprise.

"They're _mine_!" Cora insisted. Zack sighed and picked her up, gently tossing her onto his shoulder.

"Kids don't belong to anyone, lady. And you're invading Seph's privacy, so I'm gonna take you down to the desk and you can wait for the police there."

"You called them?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yeah, I figured we'd be needing them."

"Thank you."

"Any time."

Zack marched to the elevator and took it downstairs, with Cora kicking and screaming all the way.

------------------------------------------

Several months later, Cora sued for custody of the twins.

-------------------------------------------

Sephiroth won.

------------------------------------------

When the girls were four years old, they happened to be playing in Sephiroth's office when a slender young man strode in. he stopped short when he saw the girls dressing dolls in the corner of the office.

"Can I help you?" Sephiroth asked silkily, not looking up.

"Er….yes, sir. I'm from the Valentine modeling-"

"I don't model anymore."

"But sir-"

"It's too much of a hassle when you have children, Mr…?"

"Daniels."

"Mr. Daniels. As you can see, I have two daughters who need me to be available for them. Modeling shoots, particularly for your agency, take me away from where I am needed most."

Mr. Daniels shook his head.

"Actually, sir, I'm here to ask if you _and_ your daughters would model for us. We've been contracted to do a spread for a major parenting magazine, and you fit the look the boss was trying for."

"My daughters?" Sephiroth repeated. He looked over at the twins. "Girls." They looked up, instantly attentive. "How would you like to be models for a day or two? Like I used to do?"

"Model?" Tansy asked.

"Yes. You'll have your picture in a big magazine. Sound interesting?"

Lisbeth and Tansy looked at each other and giggled.

"Yes!" they cheered.

"We'll do it."

--------------------------------------

Sephiroth arrived at the agency's main building a few minutes early, with a daughter hanging off each arm. Once inside, they clung to him, not happy with the new place until a boy, maybe six years old, ran up and grinned at them.

"Hi!" he said. "I'm Dante! Dad said you're the prettiest girls in the city!"

Even at four, Lisbeth and Tansy knew a compliment when they heard one. They giggled and blushed, hiding their faces against Sephiroth's leg.

"And who is your father?" Sephiroth asked, nudging the girls to try and get them to let go so he could take another step. They didn't budge.

"My Dad owns this place!"

"Dante! How many times do I have to tell you? Don't just charge up and shout at everyone who walks in the d- oh, Sephiroth."

Sephiroth bobbed his head in greeting.

"Vincent. This little terror is yours?"

"He is," Vincent sighed, picking Dante up. "And there are two more waiting to ambush you."

On cue, a small girl roughly four years old climbed out of a planter and trotted over. She smiled shyly at the twins.

"Hi. I'm Leilani."

"I'm Lisbeth."

"I'm Tansy."

"Wanna see my doll house?

The girls detached themselves from Sephiroth's legs and followed Leilani down the hallway. Vincent put Dante down and allowed him to trot after his sister. A seven year-old boy popped out of a nearby office and trailed after all of them.

"Thank you for accepting the shoot," he sighed. "I'd have done it myself, but the general public still isn't happy with my having children by a surrogate when I also have a male partner."

"Anytime."

---------------------------------------

The spread sold out two printings.

-----------------------------------

Cora made another bid for custody when the girls were nine, pleading that a bachelor wasn't a fit guardian for a couple of impressionable young girls. Besides, there were things they needed to be taught that Sephiroth had no hope of teaching them.

--------------------------------

Sephiroth won, again, and enlisted the help of Cloud's childhood friend Tifa to educate his children in the ways of women.

--------------------------------

A second father/daughter modeling job when Tansy and Lisbeth were twelve landed both girls modeling offers of their own. Sephiroth agreed, but only if he could be present during the shoots.

-------------------------------

Cora's next attempt to lay claim to her daughters was far more inventive and far less legal than her last two. Her current man had unpleasant connections. It was a simple thing to beg him into sending a few men to invade the plush apartment and kidnap two fifteen year olds.

They planned on sneaking in early on a Sunday morning, when all three occupants of the place would be exhausted from the Saturday night party circuit. Their chance came sooner than expected, though: Flu season sent Sephiroth, the only dangerous resident, to bed with strict instructions not to do anything remotely work-like on a Thursday when the girls didn't have school.

Three men picked the lock and slipped into the apartment late that afternoon. Lisbeth was first to be located; she was sitting on one of the big couches in the living room, reading Romeo and Juliet for her English class. One quick swoop had her gagged and struggling in the first man's arms.

Tansy was in the home office-turned study space, her feet kicking faintly over the arm of the massive leather armchair in the corner. She had time for a squeak before she was grabbed.

In the living room, Lisbeth thrashed free.

"Dad!" she yelled, kicking at her assailant's knees. "Dad, there's been a break-in!"

Tansy bit a hand that strayed too close to her face and added to the shout.

"Dad, there are men here and they're _grabbing_ me!"

Sephiroth was out of his room and into the office in record time. The man holding Tansy had enough time to flinch before a leather-bound volume of _The Complete Sherlock Holmes_ came down on his head.

"Lisbeth?" Sephiroth asked hoarsely.

"Living room," Tansy said, reaching for the yarn she'd left on the bookshelf after a project for World History.

Sephiroth charged into the living room, where he was faced with the sight of two men fighting to get Lisbeth out into the hallway before Sephiroth caught them. Roaring wordlessly, he barreled into them, taking both men and his daughter down in a heap of limbs. Smaller and faster than her father or her assailants, Lisbeth wriggled free and ran for the phone.

By the time the police arrived, all three men were lined up on one of the couches in the living room, tied up with rainbow colored yarn. Sephiroth was snoozing on the opposite couch, _The Complete Sherlock Holmes_ lying near his hand. Lisbeth and Tansy stood guard over everything, daring the two conscious kidnappers to try and move.

--------------------------------------------

Sephiroth had an electronic lock installed on the door.

--------------------------------------------

The day Dante Valentine and Tansy Crescent were married was gloomy and wet- just the sort of weather two die-hard fans of sci-fi, horror, and all things gothic wanted for their wedding. Before the ceremony, Sephiroth skittered out of the dressing room to find Zack.

He located his best friend in a different hallway, talking wiring with another contractor.

"Zack!"

"Yeah?"

"Did you come in the Jeep?"

"Uh-huh. Why?"

"Bring it around, quickly. I'll grab Tansy and we can get out of here before anyone notices."

Zack snorted and patted Sephiroth's head.

"Finally getting jitters, huh?"

"No."

"You're talking about kidnapping your own daughter and carrying her away from her wedding. I'd say that's a major case of jitters."

"I don't know what I was thinking when I said he could do it! I must have been out of my mind! Get the Jeep!"

"Calm down, Seph. Tansy's been seein' Dante for three years- I think they know what they're getting into. Anyway, Vincent'll kill you if you try to pull anything."

"Where is he?"

"Who? The groom? Or his parents?"

"Both!"

"Dante's getting dressed. Vincent is keeping Cid barricaded in another room while he rants about your family and theirs getting married together. He still hasn't forgiven you for taking his little boy away."

"This wasn't _my_ idea!"

"But you did say yes. Tansy didn't ask Cid if she could marry Dante, after all. Cid couldn't really do much about this."

"Neither did I!"

"If I have to throw you in with Cid and wait until you two work it out, then I'll-"

"Dad?"

Lisbeth peeked around the corner, stopping Zack in mid-threat. He turned into the sappy uncle he'd been for years at the sight of her tip-toeing out into full view.

"Hey there. Whatcha need him for?"

"Tansy. Is he okay?"

"Actually, he's having a bit of a breakdown."

"Oh, Dad," Lisbeth sighed, and hurried over in a rustle of skirts. "You turn all soft _now_? After twenty four years?"

"Twenty three and seven months," Sephiroth corrected. "To the day."

"That's not the point. This is good. Why are you panicking?"

"She's getting _married_!"

"You didn't fuss this much when I went to Paris for two years."

"You were modeling!"

"_And_ I was living with my boyfriend. My very _serious_ boyfriend. What if he'd proposed?"

"He ran off with a stripper."

"Not my point. She's a big girl, and so am I. It'll be okay."

Sephiroth nodded dumbly. Lisbeth laughed and hugged him.

"Now, c'mon. Tansy needs to be reassured."

Zack snorted behind them.

"I can still go around and get the Jeep, if you really want me to."

"Never mind," Sephiroth murmured, offering Lisbeth his arm. "I have to go calm the bride down. We don't have time to plan an escape."

"Whatever you say, Seph," Zack chuckled. "See you at the ceremony, then?"

"Of course."


End file.
